Essential Nutrients 101: Your Guide to Nutrition, What You Need, and the Science of Why

Essential Nutrients

Experts classify nutrients as “essential” because your body cannot make them, yet requires these nutrients for growth, maintenance, repair, and so much more.

“Essential nutrients are compounds that the body can’t make or can’t make in sufficient quantity,” says Mandy Ferriera. “According to the World Health Organization, these nutrients must come from food, and they’re vital for disease prevention, growth, and good health.”

If you’ve ever had a cola or candy bar and got a “quick fix,” but quickly felt tired (and oddly enough, craving more sugar), you know that feeling. Because sugar contains no nutrients, experts call it an “empty-calorie” food.

Many processed foods and drinks contain more sugar than you might realize. A 12-ounce cola (small, by today’s standards) contains a whopping 10 teaspoons. Those numbers add up quickly.

Some surveys show the average American consumes about 152 pounds of sugar and 133 pounds of flour that converts to sugar annually, says Hyman. That’s about a pound of sugar every day!

Choosing the right carbohydrates, then, becomes fundamental to having steady blood sugar levels and getting sufficient nutrients for vital health. In general, the least-processed carbohydrates make your best sources.

These nature-packaged foods — low-sugar fruits like berries as well as leafy and cruciferous greens — don’t have barcodes or ingredient lists, and they come intact with the correct ratio of nutrients.

How Much Protein Do You Need?

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends the average adult get about 0.36 grams of protein per pound. For a 150-pound person, that would be about 54 grams of protein per day. Some experts believe that number is too low, especially considering the numerous roles protein plays.

Whereas most animal foods contain all the essential amino acids, many plant foods are low or absent in at least one essential amino acid. Some plant proteins are also less bioavailable than animal protein.

That doesn’t mean vegans and vegetarians can’t get sufficient protein from plant foods. You just need to be more mindful and incorporate plenty of protein-rich foods like nuts and seeds.

Fat

For decades, health experts believed fat was unhealthy. After all, eating fat makes you fat, right? Not quite. As with carbohydrates, the answer is more complex.

Three Types of Fat: Saturated, Monounsaturated, Polyunsaturated

Dietary fat (scientifically called lipids) falls into three categories:

Saturated fats are generally solid or waxy at room temperature. You mostly find them in animal products and a few oils such as coconut oil.

Polyunsaturated fats contain more than one double bond, making them more unstable than other fats. That fishy smell? Fish are high in unstable polyunsaturated fats, which can go rancid quickly. Polyunsaturated fats include omega-3 and omega-6 fats, which are considered essential for brain function, cell growth, and more because your body cannot make them.

Hormones, Good Fats, and Bad Fats

Some dietary fats — including saturated fat — are still hotly debated. For these, the source matters: The saturated fat you get in healthy foods like coconut oil is different than what you eat in a fast-food cheeseburger.

Likewise, omega-3 fatty acids get classified as good while omega-6 fatty acids are bad. That’s not always the case: A few omega-6 fatty acids, like gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), are actually anti-inflammatory.

Additionally, many healthy foods including nuts and seeds contain omega-6 fatty acids. Many of us simply eat too many omega-6 fatty acids — about 20 times more, in fact — and not enough anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. Balance becomes key with these two fatty acids.

The one dietary fat nearly everyone agrees is bad: Trans fats. But there’s an exception within every rule: Some dairy and meats contain naturally occurring trans fats. The truly bad ones are “partially hydrogenated” fats you find in some vegetable oils and processed foods.

Water-soluble and Fat-soluble

The 13 known vitamins fall into two categories: Water-soluble or fat-soluble. The body cannot store water-soluble vitamins, which quickly excrete in your urine and need to be replaced more often than fat-soluble vitamins.

When you read a food or supplement label, the nutrient breakdown will typically be clear as to amounts of specific vitamins. In other words, it might read “vitamin D (as D3).”

Deficiencies in any specific vitamin can create widespread problems that span from mild to life-threatening.

For instance, intaking insufficient pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) can create a “pins and needles feeling.” On the other hand, vitamin B6 deficiencies can create anemia, peripheral neuropathy, or damage to parts of the nervous system other than the brain and spinal cord.

Mineral deficiencies can create widespread problems. Take magnesium, which plays a role in over 300 enzyme systems, including protein synthesis, muscle, and nerve function, controlling blood glucose, and regulating blood pressure. Chronic diseases, medications, and getting insufficient amounts from food are among the reasons many people are at risk for magnesium deficiencies.

Like vitamins, minerals interact with each other. Too much of one mineral can create imbalances in another. Too much manganese, for instance, can trigger iron deficiencies. Others, such as magnesium or chromium, perform therapeutically on their own in higher doses for specific conditions.

Note: Consider conferring with a healthcare practitioner before using larger amounts of individual nutrients.

Water

You can survive for weeks without food, but water? While some experts speculate up to a week, and three or fours days might be more accurate. (Note: Don’t try this science experiment at home!)

Sufficient water intake becomes vital for nearly every bodily function. “Water can improve energy, increase mental and physical performance, remove toxins and waste from your body, keep your skin healthy and glowing, and may even help you lose weight,” says Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., in The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth.

Your body constantly loses water via sweat, urinating, and even breathing. Dehydration can occur more easily than you might imagine, and its repercussions can jeopardize your health and even become fatal.

How Much Water Do You Need?

How much water you require depends on numerous factors including age, gender, health status, and physical performance. The average adult man needs about three liters per day, whereas an adult female needs about 2.2 liters daily.

Yes, you can get some of that from food, but you’ll want to get most from clean, filtered drinking water.

Emphasis on clean and filtered. “There are hundreds of chemicals, pollutants, and toxic metals (mercury, arsenic, etc.) that have the potential to wind up in our water,” says Bowden.

A good rule of thumb is half your body weight in water ounces every day. If you weigh 160 pounds, that’s about 80 ounces of water. Keep a BPA-free canteen nearby filled throughout the day to meet that quota.

Essential Nutrients 101 – The Science of Why

Looking at the six essential nutrients reveals their complexity, but also underlies one particular conclusion: We often don’t typically consume nutrients in isolation. (There are some exceptions, such as taking amino acids like L-glutamine therapeutically or consuming a protein powder.)

Instead, we usually consume nutrients together in food and supplements. And for the most part, the six macronutrients and micronutrients work synergistically.

While calcium often gets touted for strong bones, this major mineral works synergistically with vitamin D, vitamin K, magnesium, and phosphorus to protect your bones against fractures.

Some vitamins and minerals — including vitamins C and E, as well as selenium — work separately and synergistically as antioxidants.

Macronutrients also work together. You don’t usually eat protein, fat, or carbohydrates individually. You eat wild-caught salmon, which contains protein and fat. Or you eat lentils, which are mostly fiber (carbohydrate) along with protein. And of course, those foods come loaded with vitamins and minerals.

The nutrient-rich, whole foods in our Core and Advanced plans incorporate all of these nutrients in optimal amounts to stay lean and healthy. The plans differ slightly. Our Advanced Plan, for instance, includes more moderate amounts of protein and limits certain carbohydrates like higher-sugar fruit.

Even then, meeting your nutrient quota from food alone can be challenging. That means supplementing with a solid nutrient foundation may be necessary, even with an ideal diet.